Price of Redemption
by GrandMoffPooky
Summary: Harry is captured. This action leads to other actions, which leads to Harry learning what it is to love and be loved. Magical Creature Harry. HONKs with an OC joining in later. Slightly AU
1. My pain is Meaningless!

Disclaimer: I don't own HP...actually...I own almost nothing...that sucks... 

"Piggy" - denotes speech 'Fat Piggy' - denotes thought

Chapter One: My pain is meaningless!

Harry Potter looked out of his window wondering if Tonks was having fun visiting her family. He wish he could be with her, one of his most trusted friends. Actually, he would of liked to be anywhere else but here, his once abusive household of many years. He knew he needed to stay here though, or his 'family' would be protection-less, and though he disliked his uncle and aunt, he also knew what happened to those who fell into the psychotic hands of Voldemort and his followers. His aunt, uncle, and cousin were out on a small trip over the weekend visiting Marge. He was rather pleased with this, since he didn't have to listen to their complaints about the 'freaks' telling them what to do.

He looked down, and saw an impression in the grass that had to be Mundungus Fletcher sitting down and likely going over a shady deal in his head.

With a sigh, he decided he wanted some fresh air, and headed downstairs to grab some lemonade and head out. When he walked outside, he said a quiet hello to his guard then went to sit under the tree. Clouds marred the night sky, and neither stars nor the moon gave any light. He didn't mind, he rather liked the stillness and quiet that the night afforded him. Something was eating at his mind though, he felt that it was TO quiet.

After five minutes, he started getting edgy, and looking over at Mundungus showed that he too was getting agitated. Harry stood up and slowly started making his way to the house, and a slight motion from his left told him that his guard was following him under his invisibility cloak. Before either made it to the door, cracks started to go off beyond the range of the wards. Deatheaters began to spread out, while one reached into his cloak, pulled out what could best be described as a muggle hand grenade and chunked it at the house.With a magic charged explosion, the object made contact with that wards surrounding the yard, obliterating them in a shower of lights.

Almost immediately after this happened, Harry and Mundungus felt other wards come up, namely anti-apparation and portkey wards. Mundungus let out a curse and threw off his cloak, sending out spells as fast as he could. While doing so, he used his other hand to reach into his pocket to get the special Order of the Phoenix portkey to be used in emergencies. As he dodged and weaved, he pulled it out and prepared to throw it at Harry, as he knew that's what would be expected of him. Harry however, doing his own spell-work and acrobats, saw this happening.

'There's no way I'm letting another die in the defense of me, no way in hell,' he thought with a growl. "Fried turkey," he yelled as he dived to the side. Mundungus's eyes grew in his horror as he felt the pull of the portkey, desperately crying out, "No"Harry gave a satisfied smile. He still felt the pain of Sirius's death, he didn't want the pain of Mundungus's life mixed in. The deatheaters looked at each other, then laughed as they realized that Harry was all alone.

They put on more pressure as they moved in, hoping to wear their target out. One of them got lucky, and a stunner hit Harry in the chest.Harry felt the blow, and felt the magic contained in the spell trying to knock him out. He began to slump, but reared up and roared in anger as he locked eyes with the one that had hit him. He continued to shout and roar with every spell he fired, each more powerful then the last. The deatheaters were shocked as the boy shook off the blow, even going into a berserker fury as he was cornered. The shock was short lived as they began firing even more powerful spells at Harry.

Soon, Harry slumped to his knees, desperately trying to raise his wand again, but to no avail. He was just too weak, having used too much magic in his spells and resisting the spells that hit him. A deatheater walked up to him and aimed his wand into Harry's face. Then Harry knew no more as a red blast of magic slammed into him at point blank.

Later

Harry looked around his cell. He had just awoken to find himself locked in this dank room, which he knew would be his home for a while. He felt a sharp jab of pain from his abdomen as he tried to stand, telling him that the wounds he had received from the earlier fight had not been healed, or at least were only healed enough so he wouldn't die anytime soon from them.

He smiled however, when he remembered that Mundungus had made it out safe and sound, and he thanked all the deities that Tonks hadn't been there, for he knew she would never have fallen for the trick he did on Fletcher. She had left earlier that week, though at the time he was sad that he wouldn't get to talk to one who had become one of his most trusted friends in the two years he had known her. He smile as he remembered that she was going to return to her true home for a few weeks in hopes of recovering from Sirius's death. He gave a soft chuckle when he remembered how he had learned what the Black family really was. He even gave a full-blown laugh when he remembered that the Black's were supposed to be one of the darkest families in the wizarding world.

It was all a lie, well…somewhat a lie. The Blacks were really a family of Elves, not the cool little house elves, but true elves, actually, they were a mixed family of elves. You see, there are different types of elves, just like there are different types of humans, but the difference isn't just skin color, its their way of thinking as well. There are Dark Elves and High Elves, which both have their own little sects that Harry didn't want to bother thinking about. It turns out that the Black family had come to this realm centuries before, hoping to help out in a war that had been occurring for years.

They did indeed help out the war, and they decided to stay in this realm and offer protection in its times of need. The Dark Elves in the family, although in no way evil, did however practice the Dark Arts through out the centuries. And although the family had its fair share of High Elves, who used Light Magic to complete their tasks, the wizarding world marked them as a dark family, and to the world, if you were dark, you automatically supported Dark Lords.

Harry sighed wistfully as he remembered the tales Tonks and Sirius had told him about the Elvin Realm. 'How I would love to be an elf…maybe I could be worthy enough for Tonks…,' his musings however were cut off when he door opened, revealing a pair of guards flanking the Dark Lord himself. Harry's scar gave of a painful jab, but Harry used his occlumency skills, skills that Tonks had taken upon herself to teach him, even though they were both hurting from Sirius's death, to block off his mind to all intrusion.

"Well well, it seems that you know how to finally block me out of your mind…no matter, I will get that prophecy from you by means more…enjoyable," Voldemort said while raising his wand.And thus Harry's hell began, from torture session to torture session, the days passed by, with little rest for Harry.

Two weeks later, Harry's body was all but destroyed, but his mind, though weakened, was still far from insanity due to his strong shields always in place. His magical reserves, however, have never been stronger, he was conserving it so he could save two tortured souls, namely Bellatrix Black and Narcissa Black, two who had been tricked into a marriage by their husband's fathers. Of course, they both had to be forced to drink some kind of potion to do what their husbands told them to.

Harry knew this because of two things; one and elf can never be evil, it goes against their very being, which would kill them quite fast and two, Tonks and Sirius had told him. That is why he was conserving his energy, so he could give those two the chance at freedom that their sister Andromeda had, whom had found another Elvin family and had soul-bonded into it. He knew through his nightmares (which now occurred regularly, even with his shields up), that they both would be locked into a cell in this very dungeon today, waiting for their new dose to be finished.

He waited an hour or two after his morning torture session, and sure enough the two beautiful women were put into their cell. Harry could see the tears in their eyes, making his heart ache for their pain. If there was one thing Harry loathed to see, and fought viciously to stop, was an innocent person in any type of pain. The deatheaters had found this out early on, and learned their lesson well from the experience.

Earlier

Deatheaters threw Harry to the ground, and when he looked up, he saw not his usual tormentors, but a young muggle girl, barely twelve years old. His eye's grew wide as he realized that they were going to torture her in front of him. The girl looked at the new comer's condition and her crying grew, 'Is this what I'm gonna end up like'

A deatheater cackled as he raised his wand and said the word that Harry had been hearing far too much lately. The girl's eyes grew wide before clenching shut as she screamed in pain. Harry looked on in horror and disgust, 'It's one thing to torture me, but to torture her…barely old enough for Hogwarts'

After almost a minute of her torture, which the deatheater felt content to do for however long she lived, Harry was getting pissed. He could feel his magic swarming around his core, his very being roaring out in anger and disgust. Without warning he roared and his magic shattered his binds. The deatheater torturing the girl looked up in surprise before Harry's hands were firmly around his neck, his unkempt nails digging into the tender flesh.

With a roar, Harry ripped his hands back, unfortunate for the deatheater, cause he still maintained a strong grip. The mans throat was torn open as his eyes grew as he went into shock from the sudden and vicious pain. The other five deatheaters were still in shock as he twirled around, before his eyes glowed before a blinding light shone, expanding into a disk of blue light. Harry grab the girl and as gently as possible tossed her into the disk, which closed immediately afterwards. He then lunged onto another deatheater, who soon joined his comrade in death. The deatheaters got over their shock and shot off spells but it took a number of stunners and one more dead deatheater to finally subdue the enraged Harry.

Current

Harry still wondered what he had down, and where he had sent the girl. He doubted he could do the spell again, however, cause he needed every bit of energy he had to do what he was planning. One of the deatheaters that had escorted the women into the cell was none other then Serverus Snape, whom Harry had helped solidify his position in Voldemort's ranks. Snape knew this, and though unwilling, he knew a good thing when he saw it.

"Traitor," Harry croaked out, his vocal cords long since torn from the screaming that he had done.Snape stopped and sneered at him, but Harry could see the sympathy that flashed through his eyes for a second.

"Shut up, Potter, you never seem to stop annoying me…Crucio!" Snape said with a snarl. Harry spasmed under the spell, but he didn't cry out….pain was almost nothing to him now, especially since his body had suffered such extensive nerve damage. Snape released the spell after a little while, and marched off with the other laughing deatheaters.

When Harry had recovered, he looked over at the two crying women in the cell in front of his and hoped his speech wasn't too marred by the torture he had been put through, "I was hoping to meet up with you two."

They looked over at him in shock, but when Bellatrix saw him, she burst into open sobbing. She had tortured him while under the effect of the potion…and to see his condition while not under it broke her even further.

Harry cocked his head to the side, "I feel no malice or even dislike to you Bellatrix, and I know that Sirius wouldn't either, I do however feel the need to help you both out of here."

Narcissa looked up at him, a slight hope in her eyes, before it died, "You can't help us…nothing can help us."

Harry smiled at them, showing his bloodstained teeth, "I'll give you a portkey outta here, just as long as you do me a favor?"  
They looked up at him in shock, "You can't portkey out of this fortress without the permission of Voldemort, how do you expect us to get out."

Harry reached down into his tattered jeans, taking out his wallet. Inside were a few pictures, a few muggle monies, and a card, "They were stupid enough not to take my wallet…which unfortunately for them, has a special portkey given to me by Sirius that I have been saving for just such an occasion."

"You mean to tell me that those deatheater bastards didn't find that!" Bellatrix said with hope in her eyes.

"Yep, the only problem is its capacity is only 2 people, but that works well, since I wasn't planning on using it," Harry said with a smile, tossing the card over to the two ladies.

"We…we…cant just leave you behind! Look at you!" Bellatrix said in shock, obviously speaking of Harry's multiple wounds.

Harry gave a dry chuckle, "I need to stay behind anyway to blow a hole through the wards of this place…besides, you two deserve freedom after what you have been put through, what you have been forced to do."

He threw another piece of paper over to them, "Tell Dumbledore I sent ya, and if Tonks is there…tell her…I miss our talks."

The two witches looked at Harry, their eyes shinning with both respect and gratitude beyond measure.

"Oh yea, go to Gringotts, they have some paperwork waiting for you to solve the problem of not being a Black anymore," Harry said with a smile.

He closed his eyes, and with concentrated for a bit. While concentrating he started to growl lowly, which slowly rose in volume until with a mighty roar, he unleashed his magic. The magic slammed into the invisible wards around them, which resisted only a second before breaking. Harry then shouted out the activation word for the portkey, "Redemption."

With that word, the witches felt the familiar pull of a portkey, and when they opened their eyes, they were looking at a surprised  
Dumbledore, with an equally surprised Snape by his side. They looked around and realized they were in Dumbledore's office in Hogwarts.

Dumbledore shot up with his wand in hand and pointed it at the two, whom cowered slightly. Snape jumped up as well, but instead of aiming his wand at them, he stepped in front of Dumbledore's wand. "It's ok Albus, they couldn't have taken their potions yet, so they are their real selves," Snape said, looking perplexedly at the two women.

Albus Dumbledore nodded and lowered his wand, with his eyes starting to twinkle, "Well then, it seems our luck seems to be turning for the better, but I must ask, how did you two get in here."

The two witches eyes filled with tears of joy, realizing they were finally free, and they hugged each other. Snape smiled as well, he was especially happy to see his cousins free of their torture.

His smile turned to a frown as he thought of something, "It was Harry wasn't it…he was the one who set you free."

The ladies nodded, and Bellatrix shook slightly, "He is in so much pain…I can feel it in the very air of that place, and yet he saved this portkey for us…to free us of our torture, to give us a chance at the life our sister has."

Snape shook, "Albus, we have to get him out of there…especially now…there's no telling what Voldemort will do to Harry after this." Albus nodded, his eyes had a vast sadness, but also much pride in the actions of one Harry Potter.

Slightly Later

Harry knew that he would pay for what he had done, and he would pay dearly, but that couldn't stop the twinkle in his eye as the Dark Lord ranted and raved at him. "Think you're special! Think you did something good?" screamed Voldemort, then he saw the defiance in the boy's eye, "Cut his eyes out, I've had enough of his defiant look." Harry just laughed, "I have freed those that deserved it, Voldemort, no pain can make me regret what I did." Harry's face was calm, though even more worn which had resulted from his massive magical burst earlier.

The deatheaters advanced on Harry, holding him down, though he truly didn't have the strength to resist, while another pulled a knife out of a sheath at his side. Snape watched in horror before turning away, but had to resist the urge to cover his ears to escape the screams of agony as the deatheaters went to work. Snape apparated out of the fortress later and directly into the meeting of the Order of the Phoenix, where he sat down in his chair.

"How is Harry, Serverus?" Albus asked gently, hoping against hope that Harry was still alive.

"They cut his eyes out…and then they tortured him for hours…I can't do it anymore Albus, I can't sit there and watch them do this to Harry…" Snape said in a shuddering breath.

Snape could never call the boy 'Potter' any more. That would be far to disrespectful…and Snape had a deep respect for Harry after witnessing what he had gone through, what he was going through. He wondered if he would even be able to look at Harry without being ashamed of his past actions against him.

Many at the table gasped in horror, some even breaking out into crying, while Albus looked older then ever, with tears in his eyes as well. Albus looked down, his heart and soul crying out in anger and sadness at what Harry had to endure, anger at Voldemort for doing this to Harry, anger at himself for not being there to save him, and sadness for not being able to a thing to help except pray to the Gods for his safety.

There was a pop as someone else entered the room, and when people looked up, they saw the crying face of Tonks. "What happened Albus, I just went to Privet Drive, and I saw number four burned to the ground…where's Harry?" Tonks asked desperately.

Earlier

Nymphradora Tonks was happy, but her happiness was hampered by the fact that she had been unable to bring Harry along. She knew that he would of loved to come to the Elvin realm, but due to Harry needing to stay at the Dursleys, he wasn't able to come. She vowed to make it up to him by spending more time with him before he went to school, and even when he did go to school.

She apparated into an alley not far from number four, and made her way, not really paying attention, since she was thinking of the conversations she would have with Harry, not to mention staring into his beautiful emerald green eyes. When she looked up at number four, she dropped to her knees in horror and shock. Where once was a normal two story house, now stood a blackened wall, and a pile of ashes and fallen debris.

'By the Gods! Where is Harry?' she thought desperately, after looking at the scene for a minute longer, she apparated into Grimmwauld Place.

She looked around for a second then asked, "What happened Albus, I just went to Privet Drive, and I saw number four burned to the ground…where's Harry?"

Albus looked at her with sympathy, and asked her to sit down. He dismissed the other order members and they left, leaving just Dumbledore, Snape, and Tonks. Albus explained all that had occurred, ending with the information Snape had just provided. Tonks was heartbroken and in tears, the boy, no MAN, she was starting to love had sacrificed himself yet again to ensure the happiness and protection of another. She dried her tears, and looked up. Her eyes now held such a ferocity that Albus leaned back into his chair with a surprised look on his face.

He was even further shocked when she slammed her fist onto the table and broke it in two, "No more playing, no more miss nice elf!" Her form changed into her true form, a 6'3'' Elvin maiden with long black hair and golden eyes. "Time to get him outta there!" She said as she got up, "And into hands that can care for him like he needs to be cared for!"

AN: Ok, I've changed a bit in this chapter, but not too much. Hope you like it.


	2. Nothing like a Woman Scorned!

Disclaimer: I unfortunately own nothing…except this nice computer…I love my computer…anyways…this is own by other people, people whom I respect for making this kind of story possible

"Heretic!" denotes speech

'I'm not a Heretic' denotes thought

AN at bottom

Price of Redemption Chapter 2 Nothing like a Woman Scorned!

Nymphradora Tonks stormed out of the kitchen, which had held the meeting of the Order of the Phoenix just an hour earlier. She had a look of ferocity and determination in her eyes, and she ignored the people situated around the room in varying states of sadness. She kept on walking, but to those that watched her, she seemed to slowly vanish into thin air.

Dark Fortress

Harry sat up against the wall, his head hurt terribly and his magic was close to exhausted…but he smiled slightly, remembering why he could no longer see. He heard the click of heels approaching his cell, and remembered that it was time for his nightly torture session. He grimaced, but straightened his face before the deatheater arrived in front of his cell.

Harry knew that the prophecy had stopped being the number one reason of his torture sessions…now it was just for the pleasure of the deatheaters and Voldemort. As he was escorted from his cell to be roughly thrown in front of the Dark Lord himself, Harry couldn't help but give a mental shudder at what was coming. Voldemort laughed as he saw Harry forced to his knees in front of him yet again.

The deatheaters laughed cruelly along with their master. When Voldemort gave the signal, the deatheaters started the torture. Harry screamed as the pain tore at his frail body. He usually could resist it when only one or maybe two deatheaters cast it on him, but when a lot cast it…he felt agony beyond anything he had been subjected to before. He felt his mind's defense crack some more…then he felt the sickening sensation of Voldemort entering his mind yet again, trying to make the crack wider.

"Yes…give in to the pain…it can all be over as soon as you just give up, boy!" Voldemort said in glee.

Harry so wanted to give in…to let his body fail, as it has been wanting to do for so long…to fall into death's embrace…to be with his parents and Sirius. But then his friends flash across his mind's eye…followed by other people he hadn't even met personally. People he had seen in Hogsmeade when he had gone there…children in Diagon Alley as he bought his supplies…hanging onto their father or mother with smiles on their faces. Then the scene changed to death…the children on the ground, bloody and torn…his friends lifeless eyes staring up at him…Tonks' lifeless eye's staring at him. He roared in rage and sadness!

'No! I will not give up! I will not doom this world to darkness just cause a little pain!' his mind screamed. His mental shields slammed back to full strength, and Voldemort was forced out of his mind before even getting in, yet again.

Voldemort growled in anger, "Fine then boy! It matters not that you won't give me the prophecy, you will die soon enough!"

Harry continued to cry out for another ten minutes before his throat failed him and he could no longer make noise. All he could do was shake and convulse as the curse did its work. Hours later, when they had exhausted the fun of his pain, they threw him back into his cell. Harry lay there still convulsing. His mind was still intact, but he knew he couldn't last much longer…his body was failing too fast, and his magic was getting to low to support it.

'Gods, protect this world…for I have failed it…' He thought tiredly, he couldn't last another day of this torture…

Elvin Realm

Tonks charged through the streets, desperate to reach her Great-Grandfather. He had left the human realm to join his wife many years ago. Tonks knew that the two would help her… and their help guaranteed Harry's safety. She charged past the guards, who knew who she was and let her pass. She ran through the massive complex in which they lived and reached the huge oaken doors that led to where she knew they would be, flinging them open.

In front of her was a long hall highly decorated with weapons and armor from many battles in the past. A long red carpet led to two ornate thrones, in which two regal looking elves sat listening to another elf in fine looking robes.

"Grandfather!" she yelled running right up to him, her heart racing. The regal elf on the thrown looked up at her with a smile on his face, but it disappeared when he noticed her eyes.

"What is it child?" he asked gently, sitting back in his throne. He noticed his wife looking expectantly at their great-grandchild as well.

"It's Harry, Grandfather, they've captured him and…and…tortured him, are STILL torturing him," she said shaking slightly at the mental image of what she knew they had done to him, "The wizards can't get in to save him, they've been trying to for weeks!"

"That isn't all, Grandfather, he sacrificed his chance of freedom for two of our own! He has freed Bellatrix and Narcissa from their potion induced servitude!" she informed, knowing that he would love to hear of their freedom and in turn influence his decision.

King Leoric Blackmoon prided himself on being able to hide his emotions, and it was well known throughout the realm that he could hide them well, but when he heard this, he broke out into a smile, beyond thankful that the two elves had finally been freed. His smile disappeared when what she said caught up with him. The boy was being tortured! And he had saved his granddaughters from their servitude!

His face turned into one of anger, and Tonks knew that she had the help of the King of the Elves. He stood up in anger, "Summon General Irator!"

He stood waiting not five minutes when a heavily armored elf walked into the hall, he walked directly up to king and kneeled, "How may I be of service my King?"

Leoric looked down on the elf he had entrusted the command of the armies to, "Stand my friend, we must plan a rescue."

Irator stood, "Who are we rescuing my King?" He was happy at another chance to test out the Elites that had just finished their training. 'A rescue mission would be a fine test of their skills,' he thought.

"A human boy, who has been captured by the current Dark Lord," Leoric said, "My grand-daughter has more information then me, so she will explain."

"A human my King?" Irator said perplexed, "Why would we bother with the war brewing in the wizarding world just for this human boy?"

Tonks' eyes turned to slits and she grabbed the respected soldier by the throat and lifted him high, armor and all. Metamorphagus skills are more useful then just changing looks…they can be used to increase muscle strength, and with the already high strength of an elf…well…

"He is not just a 'boy,' Irator…and he rescued two elves from servitude, something you have FAILED to do for a while now, and he is my friend, the man I love, and I swear to the Gods if you so much as breath in an insulting manner towards him, I will break your back!" she said in a rage, before throwing the very much shocked general onto the ground.

She huffed for a bit…before she realized what she had just done. She immediately started to blush, which only increased when she noticed the half shocked, half amused looks on the King and Queen's faces. She grimaced and reached down to help the general up, muttering apologies along the way.

For his own part, the general just shook off her apologies, "I should have worded that better, make no mistake, I find no disrespect for humanity, but I am reluctant to involve ourselves in another war with them."

In his mind, the general kept berating himself for being so foolish as to sound disrespectful to humans. The King himself had lived among humans for a very long time! Besides…he found it funny that he, who was far older and more experienced then the young elf in front of him, had gotten beaten down like a pup.

Tonks nodded again, and told the general all she had known, what she guessed his condition was, which surprised and sickened the other elves listening to her, and what she knew of the fortress he was being held at, which included a map provided by a hopeful Snape.

The general took all this in, and already knew that it would be easy to get in and out with the target. All they had to worry about was the condition of the target. He nodded to the group of elves, "I will get the party ready for the rescue, he will be resting in an Elvin infirmary by the end of the night."

Tonks smiled hopefully as Irator left, then turned to see her great-grandparents looking at her. She grew sheepish immediately, "What?"

"So you love him? Are you sure of your feelings?" asked the Queen gently, showing that she wasn't trying to control her, but only offering advice.

"Yes…I've known him for two years, even if a lot of that time was only talking through letters, I love who he is. Every time I see him in person, I learn something more to love about him…how he always puts other before himself…how he seems to see the true nature of a person just by looking at them…" she said, tears coming to her eyes as she thought of the pain he was in.

She hugged herself, trying to keep the negative thoughts away, "How he always tells me to be myself and never change just because someone asks me to…he is so sweet and compassionate…why does he have to live such an agonizing life…abused at home…hurt at school…forced to become something he doesn't want to by the world…and then he loses Sirius to top it all off…"

Leoric got up and took the young elf into his arms, trying to sooth the distraught woman, "Do not worry, we will protect him, like he was one of us, he will never be hurt while under our care!"

Outside the Dark Fortress around midnight

Two deatheaters chatted as they did the nightly patrol, laughing sometimes at the sick jokes one or the other would tell. They didn't hear the soft twang of bows being released, or the slight whistle of arrows cutting through the air. They didn't know that they were doomed until two arrows struck each of them, one in the heart, one in the throat to cut off their screams.

Six dark elves quietly moved forward, with two moving the bodies into the bushes, before they all made their way into the fortress, the elf wizard among them deactivating the wards in place for a short time. They moved stealthily through the fortress, in the direction they knew would lead them to the dungeons in which their target was being held.

They reached the dungeons after taking out a number of deatheaters along the way, all stuffed into closets or other alcoves. The leader stopped and raised his hand in a signal for the others to stop as well. He sniffed the air, but crinkled his nose when he smelled the heavy stench of blood and pain in the air. He used hand signals to tell his team that they were close to the target.

Harry couldn't sleep, he knew he should to try and rebuild some of his energy, but his head just wouldn't stop hurting. Besides, the guard in front of him was snoring against the metal bars. Then Harry got an idea…a stupid and impossible to achieve idea, but an idea none the less. He could use the keys he knew the guard had and escape! Sure, their were tons deatheaters from here to the exit, but Harry knew that this was his last chance to get out.

'Besides…I would rather go out fighting like a baby then on my knees in front of that thing they call master!' Harry thought with a nod. He used some of his magic to charge up his body for this last fight, then he opened his magical 'eyes.' It was a gift he had discovered not too long ago, but found it hard to use, especially in a magic rich area…like here or Hogwarts.

It allowed him to see magic itself, though Harry didn't know that he was seeing magic, he just thought it was some kind of cool thing like Mad-Eye Moody's trick. He didn't realize that this gift was from his true heritage, showing that it was almost time for his change. He also didn't realize that when he used this skill, two glowing dots appeared over the scars that were once his eyes.

He looked over his guard, and shook his head sadly when all he saw was the vile green pulse going along his magical veins, signifying that he was truly evil. Harry slowly made his way up to him, only able to be quiet do to the magic burst he sent into his body. He wrapped his hand over the mans mouth and chin quickly, then with strength and speed that didn't match his body's condition, snapped his head to the side…breaking the man's neck.

He slowly slid the man down to the ground, "Find peace in the after-life my misguided friend."

He reached around until he found the key, which was glowing with its own inlaid magic. He looked around the bars till he found the lock and inserted the key. The bars slid to the side easily and he gently stepped out, reaching down to find the man's knife. He dared not use the wand, his magic was far to low and already being used to sustain his movement. He took a few steps forward before he heard the slightest whisper of air in the corridor he was in.

When they had taken his eyes, his body had adjusted itself accordingly. He knew that it wasn't long enough for a major change to occur, but his other senses had gotten stronger in response to the loss of his sight. Harry couldn't 'see' around the curve of the corridor and hid in a slight alcove, kneeling and making himself as small as possible. His magical eyes scanned the darkness in front of him, waiting for whoever was making that ever so slight shuffle to walk past.

The shuffling stopped and he waited five minutes. Deeming it safe enough to look out, he ended up with the tip of a sword at his face. He jumped back and rolled out of the alcove, knowing the being with the sword would come after him. He was on his feet as fast as he could and raised the knife up, ready to die fighting. His mouth opened in shock however when he noticed that the beings in front of him were none other then elves!

The elves had heard the movement of something in front of them and had moved forward to the spot they knew whatever had made the movement was hiding. They had waited until finally another human looked out, only to jump back into the alcove and roll right, far enough away from the Elvin group to see their next move. They registered right away the boy's condition and the stance he was in. It was the eyes that got their attention the most…or lack of eyes to be more precise, though the green dots floating in front of his face had to be something for sight, they reasoned.

The elf leader lowered his weapon, and the others followed. "Are you Harry Potter?" he asked in perfect english.

The boy was suspicious for a second, and the glowing dots looked over the group, before he smiled and nodded.

"We are here to rescue you, first let our healer look you over and…" he was cut off by a grinding noise as the section of wall right beside the boy moved sideways, revealing a deatheater who must have been on her way to replace the guard Harry had killed.

Harry looked over her quickly, judging the color of the her veins, he knew that she still had a chance to change. Harry slapped his fist over her mouth and tripped her to the ground, keeping his hand over her mouth while he moved the knife to her throat.

"I give you a chance…something most would never give…leave the ranks of Voldemort, and you shall have a chance at forgiveness," Harry said quietly, she looked up fearfully at him, but shook her head, mumbling something into his hand. He gently removed his hand, only far enough where he could understand her.

"I can't," she said in a broken whisper, "My parents won't let me…" Her eyes were full of tears of self hate and sadness.

Harry gave her a gentle smile, knowing she wasn't lying, "Go to Dumbledore…tell him, he will help you, if he is reluctant, tell him Harry says to believe you."

She looked at him for a second, before nodding. Harry nodded back, then frowned, "In ten minutes, go tell Voldemort you found my guard dead…you should be safe from his wrath long enough for you to escape and make it to Dumbledore."

She nodded and he released her, and she disappeared back into the door, which closed behind her. The elves looked at him for a second, then the leader nodded, "She will not bring more to us?"

Harry shook his head…before he fell to his knees. His magic was failing…he could barely breath now. He saw the elves rush to his side before he blacked out…desperately fighting to stay alive.

AN: I didn't change much here, a few words, fixed some grammar as well. 


	3. The Prayer that saved the World

Disclaimer: I unfortunately own nothing…except this nice computer…I love my computer…anyways…this is own by other people, people whom I respect for making this kind of story possible

"Heretic!" denotes speech

'I'm not a Heretic' denotes thought

AN at bottom

Price of Redemption Chapter 3 A prayer that saved the World

Elvin Realm

Nymphradora Tonks was very nervous and jumpy. Harry was being rescued at this very moment, and she hoped against hope that they would all make it back alive. She paced around her room in the Palace, unable to sleep. She finally got fed up with her current pacing and decided to go to the Goddess she had proclaimed herself a servant to. She still offered prayers up to the many multitudes of Gods and Goddess' in existence, but most elves, especially ones that became priests or priestess', chose one God or Goddess to follow.

She was a follower of Aura, Goddess of Light. She was a patron Goddess of the elves, with Tyriel, God of Nature, and Shuri, God of Shadow being the other patron Gods. Many elves worshipped other divine beings, but these three were honored by all elves for their part in creating the Elvin race so long ago. Tonks arrived at the gardens, which contained a shrine to Aura, after passing a few guards who offered her sympathetic looks.

She kneeled and bowed her head in front of the statue of a beautiful Elvin maiden, dressed in flowing robes.

"Goddess, I have come to pray for protection. Not for me, but for the man I love, who at this moment could be in danger," Tonks said, trying to keep her voice level and to control her emotions, which were yet again going haywire, "He is so important to me and I haven't even kissed him yet, but I know I love him fully, and I don't think I'll be able to survive his death."

She looked up to the face of her Goddess, and despite her control, tears fell from her eyes, "Please, I beg of you…protect him…even if he doesn't love me back…I just want him to live and have a chance at the happiness he gives so freely to others…"

She looked down again as she started to sob. A gentle breeze blew her hair, making her close her eyes as the breeze seemed to comfort her. Her eyes shot open when she heard the racket coming from the direction of the Palace entrance. She looked over that way, and saw a group of elves carrying what seemed to be a stretcher into the Palace.

She shot up from her position, offering her thanks to the Goddess for listening to her prayer before she left the statue, not noticing the brief glow of the statue's eyes. Tonks ran into the Palace to see the stretcher bearing group enter the passageway that led to the infirmary in a hurry. She ran to catch up to them, hoping that the stretcher bore Harry.

When she finally caught up to the group, which was made up of 6 dark elf from the Assassin Guild, judging from the markings on their light armor, they had already made it to the infirmary. She looked in as they put the stretcher down in front of a number of expert healers. When the Elites left the room, they gave her a respectful nod, with the leader stopping for but a second before he continued on, "He is honorable and strong, he will make a good husband and father."

Tonks walked into the room, afraid at what she would see. She gave a gasp of horror, which quickly turned into a sob as she saw the condition of Harry. The urge to run to his side was resisted, however, for she didn't want to get in the way of healers desperately trying to save Harry's life. She was joined shortly by the King and Queen and they all sat there, with Tonks sobbing into her Grandfather's shoulder, who held her, his own face showing sadness and anger. The Queen had silent tears running down her face at the condition of this man who had saved her grandchildren.

"Damn Dark magic…it's not healing!" cursed one of the healers, who was using healing light magic in an effort to close on of the more serious lacerations. Another grumbled as well as they desperately tried to close the wounds.

"Vorlic's blood! We're losing him!" The healer who had been monitoring Harry's status yelled out.

Tonks sobbed even harder as she heard this, 'No! Don't give up Harry! Please stay alive!'

The healers rushed to stop the failing of Harry's vital organs, but they knew it was a losing battle. Harry's already pale face seemed to pale even further, and his breathing became so shallow that you had to lean down to hear it. The healers cursed yet again as they tried to stop the impending death.

"He's fighting it just like we are, but it's not working!" said one of the healers, his eyes wide as adrenaline entered his system as he worked harder to save this life.

The door burst open and the oldest and most respected High Priest of the Goddess Aura burst in. He looked around for a second before running to Harry's side, shocking the healers, who hadn't noticed his entrance. He started to cast a powerful light spell, holding a holy symbol in his hands. The symbol started to glow brightly, then a white beam attached itself from the symbol to Harry's chest. The beam pulsed as the priest continued to chant, then its started to turn darker, soon becoming grey, then becoming black. The holy symbol also turned to black and the King realized that the symbol was sucking the dark energy from the boys body. The king was perplexed, the symbol was only used against dark foes, and always destroyed the being whom the energy was being leached from.

The priest kept his chanting up, even when it was become apparent that he was becoming exhausted. Soon, however, the beam become grey, then white again, showing that Harry had been cleansed of ALL dark energy. The King smiled when he noticed that the healing of the wounds went easily from there on. The healers finished with the wounds covering Harry's body.

The oldest healer looked at the scars of Harry's eyes, and put his hand over them and chanted a strong healing spell. When he lifted his hands, the others smiled when they saw the scar tissue gone and repaired. The healer opened one eyelid and smiled even wider when he saw the brilliant emerald green of Harry's eyes. The healers sighed then cleaned up the blood covering Harry, themselves, the table, and the surrounding floor. They walked up to their King with smiles on their faces.

"He is fine now, thanks to High Priest Delvin," said the head healer, nodding towards the priest who had burst into the room earlier, "Though I would like to know what u did, Delvin."

The King smiled as Tonks rushed to Harry's side, crying now in happiness, "As would I, Delvin."

Delvin smiled tiredly and bowed his head, "My Goddess contacted me in my dreams, telling me to save this young man's life and how to do it, and who am I to not follow such a request?"

"Indeed, my friend, and I thank you whole heartedly for your actions, for if you hadn't have shown up when you did, Harry would've surely perished," Leoric replied, "And I think my granddaughter also is very much thankful to you and the Goddess as well."

Tonks wasn't really paying attention to them, instead running her hand through Harry's hair, which felt silky after being cleaned by the healer's spell. She vowed to thank the Goddess profusely when she got the chance. She had been horrified at the condition of Harry when she had seen him earlier…but now he was safe, and recovering. He was in hands that would care for him like he deserved and so help her show him the respect he deserved as well!

She kept on running her hands through his hair, and whispering words to him. She notice that he smiled after while, so she knew he was having good dreams. She slowly drifted off with her head on her arm, her hand still entangled in his hair.

Human Realm: Grimwauld Place

Severus Snape rushed through the living room after he apparated in, but you could tell that he was delivering good news cause he was actually smiling for once.

"Must be really good news if He's smiling like that," muttered Ron, who hadn't been himself since he had learned of Harry's capture and subsequent torture.

Snape ran into the meeting that had been called by Dumbledore for important information. Dumbledore saw his smile, and smiled even wider.

"I can safely guess that all went well Severus?" Dumbledore asked happily, sitting back in his chair.

Snape smile never left his face as he nodded, "Yes Albus, we found a number of dead deatheaters along the route to the dungeons plus a missing recruit, and Harry was gone and the Dark Lord knows nothing of his current whereabouts."

Dumbledore nodded, "I was hoping that he wouldn't know, and I know where the recruit is, why, she is resting just upstairs!"

Dumbledore saw the look on the order member's faces, and decided to explain, "It turns out that Harry had gotten out of his cell before the party of Elves had arrived, intent on going out fighting is my guess, and ran across her on her way to replace his current guard shift."

"She was surprised by Harry, but was given a second chance to join the Light, which she took immediately and followed his advice to come to me for help," Dumbledore continued, "Yet another life touched by Harry's gentle ways, and I dare say that the Elves will be quiet happy to get one of their own back."

Dumbledore enjoyed the confused looks among the orders faces as they tried to make sense of his last statement except for a certain werewolf that is, "I am of course talking about Lily Potter's true heritage."

It took a few seconds for some of the order to get what he was saying, before they all burst into questions, most along the lines of "Are you saying Harry's an elf!"

Dumbledore quieted them down with the raising of his hands, "He won't be an elf until his 16th birthday, since his father was indeed, a human wizard."

"How did you know Lily was an elf?" asked Remus, whom had known after she had explained to him why she had a strange scent, although he didn't know that Harry would become an elf, "And how do you know Harry will become an elf?"

Dumbledore smiled, "I know who every student that comes into my school really is within a week before they're letter is sent, call it…a headmaster's intuition if you will."

"As for how I know Harry will become an elf, it is correct that not every half-elf child becomes an elf at the beginning of their magical puberty, but there is an easy way to tell," Dumbledore continued to explain, "Each half-elf child is born with a mark, if that mark stays with them throughout their years until they're 16, then they become elves."

"You've seen this mark on him Albus, and what does this mark mean?" asked Minerva McGonagall.

"The mark shows that the half-elf's soul is pure enough to become an elf, and yes, I saw it at the Ministry when I held the boy after Voldemort tried to possess him," Dumbledore said, "It is the shape of an elfish rune, located on his back, right below his neck."

Poppy immediately gave a gasp, "Oh, that's what that mark was!" Dumbledore smiled at her and then looked around for anymore questions.

"What does the rune mean?" asked Mrs. Weasley, who was deliriously happy that her surrogate son had been saved from his hell and still had happy tears in her eyes.

Dumbledore looked at them for a second, "I'm not very sure, but I know it has something to do with dragons, though I have no idea what they have to do with Harry."

Remus asked in thought, "Does Tonks know about this?" He knew that Tonks liked Harry a LOT and figured this would really up her spirits.

"Now why would I tell her this?" Dumbledore asked, his smile turning to one of mischievousness, "That would just ruin the surprise!"

The order looked at him like he was insane, except for Remus, who was laughing, imagining the look on her face when Harry transformed, "She is gonna be surprised as hell!"

"Oh yes she is," said Dumbledore, who became quiet afterwards, he couldn't wait to see Harry again, and hopefully, when he did, he would have Tonks on his arm and a smile on his face. He voiced this out loud to the order, and was happy to see that they all shared his sentiments.

Elvin Realm

Harry woke slowly and reluctantly. He was so comfortable that he didn't want to wake from the nice dreams he was having. His wish to stay asleep however was denied as light streamed through one of the windows. He sighed and felt the silken sheets around his naked chest, 'Hold up! Silk?'

He opened his eyes and looked around, prevented from sitting up by a weight on his chest. He looked down to figure out what was on his chest, only to see a beautiful pair of golden eyes looking at him sleepily. Harry looked on captivated, "Oh yea…I must be dead…"

The angel, for it couldn't be anything but an angel to him, smiled and chuckled as she sat up, then purred out, "No, Harry, you are not dead."

Harry cocked his head to the side, "You sure…cause your beauty seems so otherworldly…oops…" Harry's eyes widened when he realized he had said that last part out loud.

The maiden in front of him smiled widely with a slight blush on her cheeks, "Thank you, your quite the looker yourself."

Harry blushed, looking around, then he realized something else, "Holy crap! I can see!"

This caused the maiden in front of him to laugh hard, but she continued to look at him with an emotion in her eyes that Harry failed to see, for he was far to amazed at his ability TO see.

"I thought I lost you there for a second, Harry, but the Goddess came to your aid just in time," the maiden said reaching out to run her hand down his cheek.

Harry started when he registered that the voice of this women in front of him sounded familiar, and he immediately attached the voice to a person he knew, "Tonks? Is that you?"

The maiden now identified as Tonks nodded and gave a watery smile as tears came unwanted to her eyes. She tried to wipe them away, but they just kept coming.

"You came in so pale…and it got worse afterwards…it took them hours to finally stabilize you, and that was only after a High Priest came at the bidding of the Goddess, it was so close…I was so afraid that we had saved you only to have you die in our arms," Tonks said shakily.

Harry's expression turned to sadness and he reached forward and pulled Tonks into his chest, "I'm so sorry, Tonks."

She looked up to him, and he finally noticed that her eyes were red and puffy from many hours of crying. He reached his hand up and wiped the tears from her eyes, "I'm ok now Tonks, your people saved me, and I am eternally grateful."

She smiled, "You have nothing to be sorry about…" She became quiet as they stared into each other's eyes. She leaned up a little and gently pushed her lips against his…she just couldn't resist. She felt him stiffen a little, but then to her happiness he responded, pulling her closer in the process.

Harry's mind raced, she had kissed him! It was a dream come true! His mind screamed in joy as he pulled her closer, and he felt her deepen the kiss. When they finally broke apart, they were gasping for air.

"Wow…" Harry said in awe, "That was great…" Tonks giggled and leaned up to capture his lips again.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that," informed Tonks when they broke apart again, sighing in contentment as she leaned against Harry's chest again.

"So uh….does that mean you like me?" Harry said, nervous that she would say no, even though he was pretty sure she would say yes.

"No," Tonks said, watching Harry's face fall, "I love you…all of you, your personality, your quirks and strange habits, and especially your heart."

Harry brightened at that, and his eyes shined with happiness, then he darkened a little, "Tonks…I want to say I love you, I'm certain I do, but I don't know what love is…I've barely received it in my life, I don't want to hurt you by saying something and not meaning it."

Tonks smiled gently, but on the inside she was fuming at the Dursleys, 'He almost exhumes love in every way out of his very body, yet doesn't know what it is to be loved and to love thanks to those bastards!'

"Don't worry Harry, I'll teach you what it is, and we'll have fun along the way," Tonks said, still smiling.

Harry smiled back, "I would like that Tonks, more then anything in the world." They continued to talk about each other like they always used to do since that day Dumbledore had appointed her his personal guard for summers. They didn't know that in three days time, a gift from the Goddess of Light, would bring even more happiness into their lives.

AN: Yea…about that last sentence…I know it sounds like Tonks is gonna get pregnant…that's not happening…yet. Here's a hint, Dumbledore mentioned it earlier. Anyways, I know Harry seemed kinda slow there for a second…but you gotta think that he has just got outta captivity and has a hot elf laying on his chest…I'd think I was dead, not to mention my brain would be quite slow while it took in new information. Yea, as you can see, I've decided to make him an elf, but with a twist which will happen later in the story. Harry and Tonks are together finally! Yay! And you know now that Dumbledore had appointed her his personally bodyguard for summer holidays 2 years ago, and I will give you all more info about that as the story progresses. As for the relationship with Bellatrix and Narcissa, I've decided that they too will fall in love with Harry and join Tonks as his lovers, but, this wont happen for a while. I'm gonna do something like cj-cold suggested but with my own spin. As for reviews, thanks so much, and I love to hear your suggestions and all.  
Thanks to Aginor Damordred, connormaclaude, HPFan5282, DJ Rodriguez (I have read a few stories he has authored and they were a great read), OniLion, cj-cold, Akram Hellfire Gibril, the anon guy, Lord-Blackheart, Expressive Silence, Diablo darkness, Sailor C, and Jarvey

AN2: I changed almost nothing in this chapter, hope ure still with me. 


	4. Matching Ideals

Disclaimer: I unfortunately own nothing…except this nice computer…I love my computer…anyways…this is own by other people, people whom I respect for making this kind of story possible

"Piggly" denotes speech

'Wiggly' denotes thought

AN at bottom

Price of Redemption Chapter 4 Matching Ideals

Elven Realm

Harry awoke later the next day and found Tonks' head resting on his chest, causing him to smile. He remembered when they had first met. It had been slightly tense, and Harry had been nervous. He had just learned that Sirius Black was after him, though nowadays, he knew that he was in no danger. Tonks had been agitated about the fact that they still thought Sirius was a criminal, and she was slightly angered that instead of being assigned to look for him, she was negated to guard duty for a kid that was surely high on himself.

She had been pleasantly surprised to find him a down to earth kid, though she saw in his eye's that he was in no way a child, and though she had her suspicions about how the Dursleys had treated Harry as a child, she never was able to get anything out of him. After a few weeks of getting to know each other, they had become quick friends, with Tonks beginning to tease Harry, which he had learned later that she only did that to people she considered friends. Harry had timidly asked if he could send her letters while in school, which she had quickly agreed to.

Harry smiled, after that there wasn't a week that went by that they didn't send each other a letter. After Cedric had been killed, she had been the one to pull him through during that summer, and he was still eternally grateful that she had been there for him, and still was.

Harry reached down and ran his hand through her black, slight bluish tinted, hair, and reveled in the feel of it slipping between his fingers. He still couldn't believe that they were a couple, though the thought brought a wide smile to his face, and he felt the emotion he always felt around her fill his heart, and he somehow knew it was love. He still had a little while to go before he knew out what love truly was, but he knew, with Tonks' help, he would know soon enough.

A slight purr got his attention again as Tonks awoke. She slowly turned her head to look up at him, smiling when she saw his smile. Harry then felt a surge of emotion from Tonks, yet again somehow knowing it was her love permeating the air around them. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back, reveling in the feeling. Tonks noticed this and she looked on happily as he explored these emotions. He finally looked down at her again, and she noticed that his eyes glowed slightly, but with a smile on his face.

"Good morning you two," said a female voice, they looked up, Harry blushing lightly while Tonks just turned her head, which was still on Harry's chest, to look at the intruder.

A healer stood in the doorway, which she left when she had their attention, "I am here to check on Mr. Potter's…"

"Harry, please," Harry interrupted her with a smile, "I don't like people being so formal with my name, makes me nervous for some reason."

The healer smiled and nodded, "Very well, Harry, I'm here to check on your condition."

Harry nodded and Tonks lifted her head finally and moved out of the way while the healer said some spells over Harry, checking for anymore damage that could have been missed, however unlikely.

"You seem to be doing quite well, but your magic is still low and your body is still recovering, so I'll get you some potions to take that will help the recovery, and rest will solve your magical exhaustion, Harry," informed the healer.

Harry smiled and nodded, "Thank you very much, but may I ask if you were one of the doctors that worked to save my life?"

The healer nodded, "Yes, though if it wasn't for High Priest Delvin, you would have died because of the amount of dark magic in your system."

Harry nodded, his face turning serious for a second, before he bowed as low as he could from his sitting position on the bed, "I offer you my sincerest thanks for the work you and the other healers did, I owe you a debt that I doubt I can ever repay."

The elf looked shocked, though Tonks had guessed that Harry would do something like this. The healer regained her composure and smiled a happy smile.

"You owe us nothing young one, but if you must be this way, then we can just say that we already owed you for saving two of our own from servitude," said the healer, before bowing herself and leaving the room.

Harry smiled, before his face turned serious yet again, "Tonks, how is everyone? Did Mundungus make it out ok? Are my aunt, uncle, and cousin ok? Have there been anymore attacks that I should know of?"

Tonks smiled slightly, "Everyone was extremely worried about you, Mundungus is doing fine, the Dursleys (here she spat the name out with venom) are ok, and no, no attacks have been made, probably due to Voldemort wanting to torture you and have his minions there to enjoy it."

The last part her smile disappeared, and tears yet again came to her eyes, "I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you Harry."

She looked down as she continued to cry, just out of reach for Harry to pull her to him from the bed, so he unsteadily got up to go to her. He reached out to her and pulled her into a embrace.

"Shhhh," he shushed her gently, rocking her, "I'm glad you weren't there Tonks, I thanked every God and Goddess I knew for the fact that you were safely away from there that night."

She looked up at him in shock, her eyes still wet, so he continued, "I couldn't stand to see you captured with me Tonks, or worse killed defending me."

She put her head back onto his shoulder, hugging him tightly. They stayed like that for a little while, before Tonks pulled back a little.

"How are you feeling about, Sirius…," she asked quietly, hoping that she wouldn't get him angry or sad. She was shocked however, when he smiled.

"You know all those visions I kept having before you taught me how to block my mind of them?" Harry asked, still having the smile.

She nodded, not understanding what this had to do with him smiling about the question she had asked.

"Well, one night when I had been too tired to close off my mind like I usually do before sleep, about two days after you left, I got a vision," Harry informed.

Tonks' eyes widened, a vision for Harry usually was a bad, and most times painful, thing, but he kept on smiling.

"It was a vision sent by Sirius…he was angry at me for blaming myself and told me off, before gathering me in a hug, saying sorry himself…it felt like hours while we sat there and chatted about my future," Harry said, having a far-away look, "It felt so good just to talk to him, even if only in the dream world…magic gives those who need it a second chance I guess…"

Tonks looked at Harry for a second, then smiled, "Yea, I guess it does, I had family to rely on, while you had nothing, so magic gave you what you needed, closure."

Harry nodded, then hugged her hard again, which she returned with as much vigor as him.

"I need to get taller…," Harry mumbled into her chest…carefully positioning his head so it didn't touch anything he shouldn't.

Tonks laughed long and hard, but decided to tease him a bit about that, "But I like you like this, you just the perfect size to act like my teddy bear at night!"

Harry grumbled good naturedly as she continued to laugh and tease him, causing him to laugh with her. Soon they quieted down and Harry decided that he wanted to do some things.

"Can you do me a favor? I want to go to a temple to the Goddess that saved my life and pray to her in thanks, but first can you tell me about her?" Harry asked with a twinkle in his eyes.

"You know you shouldn't walk around in your condition Harry!" said Tonks sternly, but Harry gave her the puppy dog look and she finally gave, "Fine, but you use this to help support yourself."

She walked over to a rack which held a number of carved walking sticks to aid patients around. She grabbed one and walked back to hand it to Harry. He took it with a smile, but then looked down at his clothes, which was nothing but a pair of infirmary pants. He looked up at her with a question in his eyes, while she smirked.

"Don't know why you want to hide your body Harry, I find it quite the specimen," She teased, while reaching for her wand at her side. She created a shirt for him to wear, which a blushing Harry adorned quickly.

Harry wouldn't admit it out loud, but he loved it when she teased him, it gave him a happy feeling, and often times, he would laugh along with her later.

Using the stick to help himself along, Tonks led him out of the infirmary, telling him about her Goddess, and the other two patron Gods of the elves.

Harry sucked in all this information and smiled, "I like the ideals of Aura, love, mercy, but also willing to do what is necessary."

Tonks smiled and looked over at him, "No wonder you like them, you yourself follow them."

Harry looked shocked for a second, before he realized he did indeed follow those ideals, "Looks like I've found a deity to proclaim myself to."

Tonks' smile grew wider, "I think you'll be a great servant of Aura." They continued to walk along, chatting about little things and such.

"Why'd you want to go to a temple instead of just a shrine Harry?" Tonks asked, though she had already guessed the answer.

"The Goddess saved my life through one of her priests, it would disrespectful for me to go to just a smaller shrine, and not make the longer walk to a main temple," Harry said, his breath getting slightly heavier.

They had left the palace grounds earlier, passing the female healer on their way out, whom had smiled at what Harry wanted to do, but told him to be careful and not over exert himself.

They finally reached the giant temple to the Goddess Aura, which awed Harry. Tonks helped the tiring Harry up the steps, with a number of elves looking at him with something akin to respect. They had gathered quite easily that he was injured grievously and had only recently been healed, and realized that he had made the walk to the main temple to offer his thanks to the Goddess for his survival.

Harry walked down the aisle that went all the way up to a giant statue of a Elvin maiden in flowing robes. When he reached a spot to pray, he slowly lowered his tired body down onto his knees, using the stick for support on the way down. He laid the stick down in front of him and bowed his head slightly, his hands on his knees. He vaguely noticed that Tonks had taken a similar position a few feet away.

"Goddess, I know not why you deigned that my life was worth saving, but I thank you with all of my being, and I pledge to you servitude in any form," Harry said semi quietly, not having the energy to care about his voice level, "Before I do so, I must complete what Fate demands of me, though it pains me to do so, I know it must be done, if not for those he has killed, then for those whom he will kill if I turn away now."

"I beg you to allow me to complete this task, then I will be free to serve you in any way you want me to," He said looking up at the statue, he then noticed that her face held the look of a mother, at least to him, then he bowed his head again, "Thank you for listening to my prayer, Goddess."

He slowly got up again, and noticed Tonks was still in prayer, so he looked around, he noticed some elves whom had heard his prayer look at him with a smile, which he returned with a bow. He noticed along the wall, that their were smaller shrines to the other gods, but one shrine stood out to him. A shrine to pray to your ancestors.

Harry couldn't resist, and made his way over, going to his knees yet again in respect to his ancestors.

"Hello, its me, Harry," he began, not sure what to say, "I…I hope that you guys are happy there with each other."

Harry really didn't know any of his ancestors besides his parents, so he decided to pray to them mainly.

"I miss you guys…even though I was only with you a year, and as a baby at that, I still wish that you were here with me, here to hold me when I am sad, or shoot me down when I am ranting," He gave a sad chuckle, "Ground me when I do something stupid."

His eyes grew wet, and he resisted the urge to wipe them, deciding that now was as good a time as any to let out his pain at not knowing his parents, where they can hopefully hear his prayers, "I want to say sorry, because of who I am to become, he came to kill me, and killed you two in the process."

"I hope to one day make you guys proud of me, and when I die one day, hopefully in the far future, that you will be there waiting for me with open arms," he said, tears traveling down his cheeks, while he reached forward gently and touched the warm stone of the shrine, before he shook his head, "On to happier things shall we?"

He gently wiped his tears away, "I've met someone that I'm certain you guys would love. Her name is Tonks, and I know I want to spend my life with her, though I think it will be unfair for her."

"I will age, I will grow old and wrinkled, and I will die, that is if I can survive Voldemort's plans on killing me, while she will age, but she will never die, and she will look like she does now, maybe a little different but still as beautiful as today, maybe even more beautiful," Harry informed, then shook his head, "I know its selfish, but I don't want to let go, even when I know it would be fairer for her to find an elf and fall in love with him."

"I know, that if she wanted to, while it would hurt, very much so, I would let her go, so she could be happy, while I spent the rest of my days being her friend," Harry said looking at the statue, before smiling, "But whether or not she does this, I'll support her either way, and I'll enjoy every second I can with her, and make her feel loved like she deserves."

He nodded and bowed his head again, "Thank you for listening, and I hope to talk to you again soon, Mom, Dad. I love you guys."

He slowly stood, using the stick to help, though his legs now felt less tired then before. He was about to turn around, when he felt arms encircle him from behind.

"I love you, Harry, and I'll never let you go, never ever," Tonks sniffled, obviously deeply touched by what he had said.

"Even when I grow old and wrinkly?" Harry said with a smile, turning around in her grasp and hugging her back, noticing that more elves gave him smiles and nods, which he returned. He also noticed that an elf in fine looking robes with the holy symbol of the Goddess Aura embroidered on.

"Never ever," Tonks said again, leaning down to kiss him, for Harry was still a short fellow, with her being over a foot taller, though she didn't mind at all. They broke apart shortly later and smiled contently at each other.

Harry broke from her, and looked at the elf, who was most likely a priest, "Hello, my name is Harry Potter, but please, call me Harry."

Harry had introduced himself because he realized that the priest wanted to talk to him. Tonks looked over and smiled at the elf, "Hello Delvin."

"Ah, so you are High Priest Delvin," Harry smiled even wider, bowing deeply again, "Thank you very much for your quick actions High Priest."

"No thanks needed, my child," Delvin said with a smile, "The Goddess wished for you to live, and I felt your pure soul from here at the Temple, who was I to let one such as you die such a horrible death."

"Well, my thanks to you anyway, High Priest, and may I say this is a breath taking Temple," Harry said with a smile, looking around the interior.

"I am inclined to agree," Delvin smiled, "Am I to understand that you want to proclaim yourself a worshiper of the Goddess of Light?"

"That I am, High Priest," Harry responded, "Her ideals match my own pretty much to the letter, and I would be honored to proclaim myself one of her servants."

"Come with me then, my child, and I will help you with that," informed Delvin, who walked over to a small alter with a large crystal on it.

Harry followed, with Tonks not far behind, and looked at the white crystal, which glowed with an inner light.

"Touch this crystal, and you shall be judged whether you are worthy to receive her mark as one of her servants," Delvin iterated.

Harry nodded, and without any hesitation, placed his hand onto the crystal, which immediately glowed brighter. Harry felt his mind seemed to be shifted through, but he did nothing, then he felt his soul be judged, which felt very strange indeed. Finally the feeling went away, but then a slightly itch occurred on his upper right arm, but he ignored it.

While this was happening, Delvin looked at the boy, judging him himself. 'The boy is strong, VERY strong, in body, mind, and heart, I have no doubt he will be a fine servant to the Goddess,' he thought, then he noticed something on Harry's back, right below the neck of his shirt, which had lowered enough for him to actually notice it. An Elvin rune, one that meant this child was to become a dragon-rider! The boy was a Half-elf, and would transform soon!

Five minutes passed, and the itch finally went away, but then he heard a voice in his head, a voice that comforted him in ways he could barely remember, soothed his mind and body like a mother would her child, 'You are more then worthy child, and I gladly give my mark to you.'

Harry had closed his eyes when he had heard the voice in his head, enjoying the comfort it gave him, but the voice had one more thing to say to him, something that made him smile a small teary smile, 'And your parents are more then proud of you, always have, and always will be child, never forget that.'

'Thank you,' Harry thought back, sure that she had heard him. He lifted his hand off the crystal and looked down at his right arm. He lifted the sleeve and smiled at the holy symbol that now adorned his upper arm. He turned to Tonks and nodded, whom threw her arms around him and hugged him hard. He hugged back just as hard, for he was doubly happy.

He now knew that his parents were indeed proud of him, and he had also been accepted by the Goddess as one of her many servants. He looked at High Priest Delvin, and noticed him looking at him with a calculating look. Delvin finally smiled and reached out his hand which Harry shook.

"I know you will be a good servant of the Goddess, my child, and a good servant of the Elvin people," Delvin said with a smile, which both Harry and Tonks returned.

Human Realm

Bellatrix and Narcissa walked out of Gringotts bank with smiles on their faces. Of course, they were disguised so that no would recognize them, but that didn't matter to them. They were finally FREE!

"We really must go visit Grandmother and Grandfather, now, and I hear that Harry is resting up there," Bellatrix said to her sister as they walked towards an apparation point.

They had just divorced their husbands with the help of some documents set up by the late Sirius Orion Black. They both sent silent prayers of thanks up to their respected Gods, Narcissa's to Tyriel, God of Nature, while Bellatrix's went out to Shuri, God of Shadows. Then they sent up prayers of thanks to Sirius.

"I agree Bella, and we can do what we were planning to do with Harry when we get there," Narcissa replied.

Bella smiled and they both disappeared, only to appear moments later in a city of unmatched beauty. Elves looked at their human forms weirdly, but when the two switch back into their Elvin forms for the first time in more then a decade, the other elves smiled and continued on their way. Both the sisters breathed in the fresh air, then both shouted in joy and hugged, then made their way to the palace.

When they reached their, the guards recognized them easily and they all smiled and let them through. When they reached the throne room, they walked through the opened doors, where they saw their grandparents talking quietly. The two looked up and shot to their feet with speed that would have surprised humans. The two pairs of elves met halfway and all embraced in a teary reunion.

"It's so good to have you returned to us," Leoric said happily, hugging his grandchildren close, "And this is all thanks to that remarkable boy."

Bella looked up, "How is he grandfather?" She hoped that he was doing alright, for she indeed knew of Voldemort's temper.

Leoric looked sad as they made over to the thrones, where some servant had put two extra chairs out for the sisters to sit.

"When they recovered him, and brought him here, he was in death's grasp, and for almost an hour the healers fought alongside him to save his life, but it was in vain," Leoric began.

Narcissa didn't like the way this was heading, nor did Bella for that matter, and tears came to their eyes, fearing that he had been rescued only to die.

Leoric continued, "The Goddess Aura, however, had other plans, and sent High Priest Delvin with a holy symbol to help heal the young man, and with his aid, they managed to save him, and he is well on his way to recovering fully."

The sisters sad tears turned to joyous ones, the man they owed their life to had survived his ordeal and was now recovering, "Where is he?"

Leoric laughed with a wide smile, "Why, he left with Tonks (here he laughed again) and the two made their way to the Temple of the Goddess so that he could pray in thanks to her."

"And I hear from Healer Rose that the two were very close this morning," Leoric said, still smiling, though this smile had a mischievous air to it.

The sisters realized what he meant, and smiled, "Good, Tonks will take good care of him, and he will more then take good care of her."

Leoric smiled and nodded, "That they will, and I couldn't be more happy to have him as a great-grandson-in-law later."

"My king, My Queen, I have important news!" said a voice, causing the four to look up, their eyes identifying the speaker as High Priest Delvin.

Delvin noticed the sisters finally, and gave them a wide smile, "Ah, good to see you returned to us."

Then he turned to look at the King and Queen, "Harry is a Half-Elf!"

The reaction to those words was one of surprise, then Leoric's face broke out into a smile, and he gave a hearty laugh, "I should've known!"

The sisters just sat there and looked at Delvin in shock, before Narcissa finally asked, "You have seen his symbol?"

"I have indeed, and it's the symbol for the 'Dragon' with the symbol for the 'Crusader' as a backdrop, he'll be a dragon-rider, paladin, or both," informed Delvin.

Leoric's eyes shined, "A dragon-rider with the abilities of a paladin, it will be good to have him in the ranks, their so few and far between these days, and having a Half-Elf join their ranks will be a double blessing."

He was of course speaking of the fact that since a Half-Elf had to earn his/her right to be a full elf, when they did transform, they were far more powerful then a normal elf would be in the profession that they are destined for. It was a gift from the Patron Deities of the Elvin race, one that other elves recognized as well earned.

They were interrupted by another voice that caused them to look up again, "What's this? Do my eyes deceive me or do I see my favorite Aunties right in front of me?"

The newcomer wore light plate, which had a layer of chain mail underneath for extra protection, and on her right pauldron was a symbol of a dragon, her other pauldron having the symbol of the Elvin Kingdom. Her helm was under his arm and she had a smile on her face, which was outlined by long black hair and had a intricate tattoo over her left eyebrow, which contained a Elvin rune. Standing before them was a dragon rider, an elite warrior of the skies.

The sisters immediately smiled and got up to hug their other niece, whom had decided against joining the human world like her sister.

"It is! Aura be praised, it is!" They broke apart and the sisters sat back down, and so did the niece when another chair came into existence courtesy of Narcissa.

"It is so good to see you, again Ariel, I hope your overgrown lizard is doing well?" joked Bellatrix.

"She is doing quite well, and is outside at this moment sunbathing, it's great to see you returned to us after all these years, Bella, Cissa," replied Ariel Tonks, "Matter of fact, I have just come from a meeting with your rescuer."

"How is he, I know that Healer Rose said that he shouldn't overexert himself today, but he was steadfast on going out to give thanks," asked the Queen, voicing a concern she had held ever since the couple had left that morning.

"He is doing great from what I can see, but something strange happened while I was talking to Nymph," Ariel said, her face taking on a look of confusion. Then she began to relate what happened only an hour before.

Earlier

Tonks and Harry waved goodbye to Delvin as he made his way back into the temple. The two continued to walk, when Tonks decided to let Harry meet her sister, whom she had told him about in one of her letters, but he had never met personally. Harry agreed happily, not only for the chance to meet more of his girlfriend's family, but also for the chance to stay away from the infirmary longer.

Not that he didn't like the healers or anything, its just that he didn't like hospitals or infirmaries after so many visits to them in the past. As they walked to the section of the city devoted to military functions, Harry heard the roar of a number of dragons. Instead of being afraid, he was eager to see some, because he had always been fascinated by the majestic and mighty creatures. He remembered that Tonks' sister was a dragon rider, which brought a smile to his face, or at least made the one already there wider.

When they reached the area for dragon riders, Harry saw many dragons coming and going, with Elvin warriors riding on their backs. He would love to fly on one, just once to see what it felt like. Tonks told him to wait by a tree, which Harry did, leaning on it to conserve his flagging energy. She returned later to tell him that her sister would be returning shortly and had been told that they were waiting. While they waited, Tonks helped Harry over to a large grass covered area and they sat down under a tree.

Soon a shadow flew over their chatting forms and a dragon landed on the grass about a hundred yards in front of them, off climbed the elf on the dragons back, who walked their direction after patting the dragon's head lovingly. The dragon followed its rider, its steps shaking the ground slightly, making standing a tough job for Harry, whom had gotten up with Tonks to meet the elf.

The helmet came off the warrior, who shook her head letting her black tresses fall out, "Nymph, you just left her not a week ago, and now your back again? Why do you smother me so?"

Nymph laughed and walked forward to hug her sister, followed by Harry who held out his hand to shake hers, only to have her pull him into a hug as well, "Thank you for saving my aunts, Harry, it means so much to our family."

Harry laughed nervously as he returned the hug, causing both the Tonks sisters to laugh, "It was nothing really, they suffered far more then I had, so who was I to let them suffer even more? So really, it was nothing."

Ariel, as he remembered her name to be, looked at him incredulously, looking over at her sister, who smiled at her boyfriend in pride. Nymph leaned over and kissed Harry gently, causing him to blush lightly but smile non-the-less. As the two sisters engaged in conversation, Nymph telling Ariel of the last few days, Harry looked over at the dragon.

The dragon looked right back at him and seemed to size him up, before giving a huff and walked forward a bit and ever so gently head butted Harry.

"What's this then?" Harry asked in quiet awe, reaching up and patting the dragon's head, "You're a beautiful one."

The dragon gave another huff, and looked up into Harry's eyes. He stared right back, not in a challenging way, but an accepting way, allowing the dragon to see what it wanted to. The dragon gave a growl, but Harry somehow knew it wasn't directed at him, and reared back. The roar that followed was loud and shook the very ground, but Harry, far from being scared, was awed even more.

"Magnificent…," he said quietly, but the girls picked it up, as both had stopped their chatting and watched warily what was happening between the dragon and Harry.

"Looks like Kida really likes you, Harry," Ariel said, "Which is funny, since she really doesn't like a lot of people."

Harry looked over at her for a second, then back at the dragon, who had gone back to being on all fours, "She is a beautiful being, and I can sense her wisdom is vast!"

Ariel smiled, "That she is, and she's loyal, too." Ariel looked at her dragon fondly, happy that she had behaved and even liked the young man in front of her.

A voice echoed in Harry's head suddenly, 'I sense much pain in you young one…yet much happiness…how is this possible?'

Harry was shocked for a second, which confused the girls, but he answered anyway, out loud since he didn't know if he could contact the dragon (for he knew it was the dragon, somehow he knew) with his mind.

"My…childhood…and even a good deal of my teenage life up to this point, has been a near unending cyclone of loneliness and pain, and it got worse a month ago when I was captured by the man that wants to kill me…it wasn't a pleasant stay, but I think my life is looking up, though I still have a destiny to fulfill in the human world," Harry answered, "All because of this wonderful elf over here by the name of Nymphradora Tonks, whom I deeply care for and will do anything for."

The dragon looked at him for a second, then nodded, 'You're heart is pure, as is your soul, and you can understand and speak to me, which is no easy feat.'

"Thank you, Kida, but I am no one special, just good'ole Harry Potter," Harry replied with a smile.

'And your modest…,' responded the dragon with what could only be a draconic smile.

Harry blushed, looking away, only to see the awed look of the sisters, "Errr…yes?"

"You just had a conversation with a dragon!" said Tonks, her awed look breaking into a smile, "A dragon!"

"Errr…yes?" Harry nervously repeated, looking between both the girls, hoping he hadn't done something bad, though they were both smiling now.

"That's really rare Harry, and that gives you the ability to become a Dragon Rider!" said Ariel giddily, "Not to mention the way you did it was super rare!" She was happy to have found a new possible Dragon Rider to join their ranks, even if only for the short span of his human life.

"You can talk with her right?" He asked, which she shook her head negatively, spiking his curiosity.

"How do you communicate with her?" He asked wonderingly, trying to figure out what he did that was so rare.

"Through a mind connection, all riders have it, its how we are able to communicate over great distances, like how I knew that you guys were waiting for me," she explained to him, "However, what you have, is not only the mental connection, but also can SPEAK draconian, which opens a whole new world of opportunities for you to learn things."

Harry looked slightly agitated about being yet again different, but then words spoken to him by Sirius came to mind, "Don't be angry or sad that you will never be normal, be happy, cause these things are gifts from your heritage, your mother or father, or grandparents, or even further back along the line."

He smiled, gifts from his parentage made him what he is today, and even if he wasn't normal, it still made him proud to bear these gifts from his ancestors.

The three, plus dragon, chatted for a little while longer, when Harry began to yawn, thus warning the others of his exhaustion. They said goodbye to each other, with Ariel and Kida taking off into the sky to go to the castle to visit. With Harry and Tonks walking slowly the rest of the way.

Present

The others had awed looks on their faces at the end of her story, but Ariel wasn't finished, "So, I was thinking, maybe we could train him to become a Dragon Rider, even if his life span is pretty short, he would be of great use to the kingdom."

"Oh, he's no human, he's a Half-Elf, and one about to change at that!" informed Delvin.

Ariel looked shocked, "You mean he's a half-elf? Does Nymph know?" She hoped not, for she wanted to see the look of shock on her sisters face.

"No, I believe not, but that is easily rectified…that is…if you don't want to see her surprise," said Leoric, once again with a mischievous smile.

The group laughed, and continued to chat the night away, catching up with the two Black sisters, recently released from servitude by one who is about to join the Elvin ranks.

AN: Hey folks, sorry for the long wait, and I hope this chappy makes up for it. I made it double the size and shtoof like that. This, hopefully, explains some stuff, though I will be continuing to put more info about the past into the story as we get along. Wow, Harry's gonna be one bad ass mofo…and I love it when he's a bad ass mofo, but with a caring heart of course :P

Thanks to all the reviewers and plz, review again so I can see what u people think.

AN2: Changed a bit, including stuff that affects the main storyline. 


	5. Goddess’ Gift…DubyaTeeEff, Mate?

Disclaimer: I unfortunately own nothing…except this nice computer…I love my computer…anyways…this is owned by other people, people whom I respect for making this kind of story possible

"Piggly" denotes speech

'Wiggly' denotes thought

AN at bottom

Price of Redemption Chapter 5

Goddess' Gift…Dubya-Tee-Eff, Mate?

Elvin Realm

Harry was tired, tired and sore. He knew that it was a result of the long trip he had yesterday, but he didn't mind in the least. He set out to thank the Goddess for her mercy, and ended up becoming one of her followers. Not to mention he got to meet his girlfriend's sister and a dragon! Well, he'd seen dragons before, but this dragon wasn't out to fry him or beat the living crap outta him.

So the next day he took his potions and stayed in bed, the only thing that kept his inherent hate of hospitals at bay was the fact that Tonks wouldn't leave his side, and had even had a teary reunion of with the black sisters, which degenerated into a hug fest between everyone. Harry though, being the modest person he was, said he had done nothing, only what was right.

Tonks had smiled along with her aunts, each pair of eyes showing deep respect for the young man that was quickly worming his way into many peoples hearts. However, Harry's endurance reached its limit and he drifted into the land of dreams.

Seeing her love fast asleep, Tonks smiled and motioned for the other two women to follow her out. Tonks led them to the throne room, and the trio walked up to the to the reigning pair of elves, giving a bow of respect that wasn't needed, but was done anyway.

The Queen smiled, "Hello again, Tonks, and I have heard that congratulations are in order for the beginning of your courtship with Mr. Potter."

Tonks blushed, but it came with a widening of the nowadays ever-present smile on her face, "Thank you, Grandmother."

They five elves made small talk after a pair of servants brought out some chairs for the younger elves to sit on. Tonks decided now was the time to ask for the opinion of her grandparents on a matter that had been plaguing her mind since she had been assured Harry would survive.

"I don't know if you guys know or not, but Harry's birthday is the day after tomorrow, and I wanted to give him a smallish party to celebrate it," Tonks informed, "As you know, Harry has had little to know love in his life, and I think he would enjoy this show of affection greatly."

The King thought for a second, and nodded, "That's sounds like a capital idea, my dear!"

The Queen nodded, "But we must be careful not to overwork him, look at him today!"

The Black Sisters nodded as well, enjoying the idea of giving the young man they owed so much to a little thank you gift. The elves quickly set up plans for the party, and the King agreed to let Harry's closest friends along with some Order members come to the realm for a day of fun with Harry. Four of the elves were also thinking of the chaos that would ensue with Harry's transformation the day of his birth with mental smirks.

Tonks left the get together to go to Headquarters and inform Dumbledore of their plans. She knew a meeting would be happening around this time unless canceled by the grandfatherly old man.

Headquarters

Dumbledore smiled as he listened to Snape tell of the little action Voldemort was taking. The Dark Lord seemed scared of whatever force that had managed to enter his command post and rescue Harry. He continued to listen and looked around at the relieved smiles on the faces of the Order. One face, however, had a look of concern. Molly Weasley desperately wanted to see her surrogate son again, to make sure he was ok. Dumbledore smiled gently at her. This seemed to ease her a little bit, but he could still see the worry in her eyes as she returned the smile.

"That is good news indeed, Severus, thank you for it," Dumbledore said as the potions professor finished, "Now, I still haven't received word about Harry, though I doubt he is in any more danger."

"You would be correct then, Albus," said a rich female voice from the shadows, out of which stepped the tall and slender form of Tonks, "He is safe and sound, though we came close to losing him."

Kingsley moved aside for her to sit next to her and she nodded her thanks, "A team from the assassin guild went in at night with orders to retrieve Harry with the utmost care and extract him to a safe area for magical transport."

"They immediately brought him to the Palace infirmary for medical attention, but due to the amount of dark magic forced into his system, the Healers couldn't heal his wounds, and he continued to deteriorate until finally, his organs started to fail." She listed off as if talking to a superior officer in the MLE, but here her voice gave a quiver, "If it wasn't for the intervention of the Goddess Aura through one of her High Priests, we would have lost him."

"A priest, using a method usually used against dark entities, drained the dark energy from Harry, letting the Healers treat the wounds fully," She continued, "He is now resting in the infirmary as we speak, recovering his energy after a trip into the city."

Molly had silent tears running down her cheeks, but a relieved smile graced her face as she was hugged by her husband, whom was smiling widely. Remus was also smiling widely, happy the young man he would gladly call his own cub was safe and sound.

Dumbledore smiled, "Thank you for informing us of this Nymphradora, is there anything else?"

Tonks nodded and told them of the plan for his birthday, which the order members quickly agreed was a great idea. They hammered out the details, and Tonks decided to go talk to Harry's friends, who were all staying at Headquarters with their families for protection.

Ron was holding Hermione on his arms, listening to her yet again let out her emotions about Harry. They had gotten together after their friends capture, both seeking comfort in each others arms. Ginny sat in the other couch, writing another letter to Neville. They had been writing to each other quite often, and Ginny hoped that he would ask her out when they met on the Express.

They all looked up and saw Tonks enter the room. They jumped up, hoping to get more info on Harry then what they had. Tonks smiled at their worried faces, which at seeing her face, dissolved into relieved smiles.

"So Harry is alright, Tonks?" asked Hermione, holding Ron's hand tightly, though Tonks had yet to drop the small smile she had.

Tonks nodded, and gave a small laugh at Ron's shout of happiness. She then explained to them about where Harry was and her plan. They listened in and readily agreed to her plan. Tonks nodded and left them to their own devices, returning to the Elvin Realm to tell her family of the response by the invited parties.

The next day, Harry woke still sore, matter of fact, his body felt worse, but the Healer, knowing what was going to happen on his birthday, but ordered by the King to remain silent about it, told Harry to get more rest and take his potions to help his body recover.

Tonks walked in a few hours after Harry woke, grinning at the young man in the bed. He gave her a grin back, "Hey Nymph, where ya been?"

"Nowhere, T.B." she said, smirking at his mock indignation at the use of her nickname for him.

She called him T.B. every once in a while, which meant Teddy Bear, after the day she had remarked that he was like her teddy. She thought it fitting name for him. After all, he was a person someone could come to for support, whether silent or vocal, physical or mental, and he never complained about it. Those traits of his were just what a teddy was for. A person could have a teddy to hug when asleep, warding off bad dreams, or to confide their problems to without worry of them being repeated. 'It's a great nickname for him,' she thought, 'Besides, I let him call me Nymph, why shouldn't I get a special nickname for him."

Harry's look relaxed into a loving smile, that made Tonks melt inside. His lovely green eyes shined with the emotion he didn't even know, making her wonder that if she turned off the lights, would his beautiful shining eyes make the room light up? She liked to think they would. She sat next to him and gave him a kiss. When they separated, Harry asked her to tell him another story about the Elves, which she gladly did, launching into a story of a famous Paladin, who had led the Elves into victory in numerous battles across the realms.

Harry listened attentively all the while. He loved to listen to stories, which was better then reading them yourself. He also memorized the stories he could, hoping to one day sit at his child's bedside and retell these stories to them.

They continued this throughout the day, with Harry taking turns telling her stories of the funnier moments at Hogwarts, using a flare for drama that he hadn't known he had before in the telling of his stories. Tonks laughed and smiled along with him, sitting back and watching him move his arms and body, using body language along with vocal language to tell stories of hilarious moments or great matches for the Cup.

When Harry finally drifted off to sleep in the middle of one of her stories later that day, she leaned down and pulled the covers up to his chin, giving him a kiss as well. She loved to see the content smile on his face that had been absent in the past. She left to go to sleep, and check on the stashed present she had bought earlier that day.

Tonks woke early, like usual and left to get the party room ready for the guests who would be arriving in a few hours. She hummed a happy tune as she worked with the servants to get the room ready, glad to see everything coming together.

Around 11 am, the guests started arrive with the special port keys given to them earlier. Kingsley and some other MLE workers came, as did Mad-Eye. Dumbledore and the staff of Hogwarts came to see one of their best students turn 16. She laughed a little bit at the smile on Snape's face, which didn't look at all like he did when he taught her potions not too long ago. The Weasley's arrived next, the entire family gathered to see their 'brother's' birthday. The next to arrive were the black sisters and Tonks' Grandparents, who received a bow from everyone in the room.

At 11:30, Harry was helped down to the room. When he entered, he was shocked to see everyone. His friends rushed forwards to embrace him, gently of course, followed by the rest. Tonks frowned, he didn't look too good, he was pale, and seemed weaker then ever. She looked over to the healer who had helped him down, but she gave a small smile to her, causing Tonks' worries to subside a little, but not totally.

Molly Weasley rushed to hug him, resisting the urge to give him her normal strength hug for fear of hurting him. She was pleasantly surprised when Harry hugged her back hard, like a child seeking comfort from his mother. She hugged a little bit harder, and kissed the top of his head. Others gave smiles at this display of affection given by a mother to her 'son.'

All was going great, though Harry still looked weak, he made his rounds and had fun with his friends and surrogate family. Then noon hit, and Harry gasped. He staggered, his walking stick falling to the ground with a noisy clank. Others looked over to him alarmed, many rushing forward to help him, but stopped when a force kept them at bay.

"Harry!" yelled Tonks, desperately trying to get to her love, as he fell to the floor, gasping for breath and holding his chest, "HARRY!"

Then the whispers began, soft and soothing. The elves in the room immediately recognized the ancient language, a divine language.

The whispers described acts of Harry, the things he had done in his short 16 years of life. They spoke of pain, treachery and agony. They spoke of hope and happiness. The whispers rose in volume, till finally a single voice was heard.

"You gladly take on burdens that others shun, yet expect nothing in return, I find you worthy," said a strong male voice.

Another voice followed, male yet again, "You use force only when it is necessary, never using the power gifted to you by the Divine to your own ends, I find you worthy."

The final voice was that of a female, and was the loudest of all, "You sacrifice of yourself even when given the chance to escape, you show modesty and humility even when you have every right to show pride for what you have done, you use your power to benefit others freely and happily. Your only wish is that your parents and those that you consider family be proud of you. You have proclaimed yourself a servant of me, and carry my mark with pride, as I hold pride in you. I find you more then worthy."

The whispers picked up again, and a light formed around Harry, who was still gasping for breath. Light swirled around him and soon a tornado of light had formed, blocking Harry from view. Everyone but a few elves were confused and scared at what was happening, wondering if Harry would be alright.

Harry was scared and confused as he was lifted gently into the air by an invisible force. The voices had confused him, though he knew they were the Patron Deities of the Elves, but what was he worthy of?

He started to turn, as light started to shoot through his chest, causing him to spasm, but for some reason his clothes disappeared when the light did so. Pain shot through him, more pain then even he was accustomed to. His vision swam and he lost consciousness.

The light continued to shoot through his body, which was changing with each beam that hit it. Harry grew taller, filling out as more and more inches were added to his frame. His chest grew broader, his shoulders spreading apart. His face became more elegant, holding a carved look to it that would attract any girls attention. His legs grew muscular and lean. His ears elongated to the length a normal elf would have but his hair only lengthened to shoulder length and stayed the same messy he inherited from his father.

After a few more minutes, his naked body lowered to the ground, vastly changed from its previous, malnourished and weakened appearance.

"Wake young one, and may you enjoy our gift to you that you so richly deserve," said the voice of Aura.

Tonks was yelling out Harry's name, desperately trying to get a response from the pillar of light in front of her. Then the pillar exploded outwards, causing some to scream in fright. Shielding her eyes, Tonks looked back after a second, only to see a naked figure on his knees. He was slumped forward, and seemed to be coming to.

His ears were those of an elf, though, so it couldn't be Harry…it couldn't be. She slowly walked forward, and watched as the figure looked up, his handsome face showing confusion, and a bit of fear.

Then his eyes locked onto hers, and he calmed somewhat. Tonks gasped as she saw the vivid green eyes that only Harry could possess. They showed pain and torment, but also the hope he had for the future and the love he held for so much. It shocked her to the core, 'What is going on!'

A hand on her back made her look over her shoulder. Dumbledore looked at her with a smile, "Harry was a half-elf, Nymphradora, and he is vastly confused at the moment I dare say, so please, go help him understand."

Tonks was beyond shocked, but also a hope started to burn in her heart, 'If he's an elf now…that means we can be together forever!'

"Nymph…," said a deep voice, a voice that though changed greatly, could still be recognized as Harry Potter.

Tonks turned back to Harry, to see he had stood up and was looking at her in concern. Tonks gave a small laugh, Harry was doing exactly what one would expect of him, worrying about others before himself. She ran forward and embraced him, forgetting about his nakedness.

Harry returned the hug easily, noticing with shock that he was TALLER then Tonks now. He looked down, and his eyes grew wide, taking in the new him quickly, before something clicked in his mind. 'I'm naked…,' he thought slowly, then, 'GODDESS ABOVE, IM NAKED!'

He quickly check if Tonks her normal t-shirt and jeans on under her robe, and certain she did, immediately opened the front of the robes, and folded them around him as best he could, but he could still feel the draft on some of his…parts….from where the robe wouldn't close around him properly.

Tonks looked up shocked, then looked down, and blushed widely as she realized she was getting a great view of Harry's new…improvements…

Harry's slightly-tanned face was red as a tomato, but when he saw Tonks looking, he couldn't resist but lean in closer to her and whisper, "Like what you see Nymph? You seem to be…fixated…on something pretty hard."

Tonks swallowed, then looked up, showing her blush well, "Y-Yes…I like it a lot…"

Harry smiled, but then frowned, his blush still not disappearing, "Could you, um, do me a favor and conjure me a pair of fitting clothes?"

Tonks gave a nod, and wormed outta the robe she had ended up sharing with Harry. Harry quickly adjusted it quickly and was now where the smaller female garment as well as he could, glad it covered up his privates better then before. Tonks gave a few waves of her wand and said an incantation, and a pair of black pants and a black button up shirt appeared, which quickly went to Harry.

He put the pants on while hiding under the robe, and then handed the robe back to Tonks with a grateful smile. Tonks got a good look at his well toned chest now, and wanted to run her hands along it, but contented herself that she could do that later on, as well as get an explanation from Dumbledore on how he knew Harry was a Half-Elf. Harry put the shirt on, then looked around, as if just remembering that others were still there.

Many of the guests had confused looks, but some had amused expressions, some even openly chuckling. Harry's blush deepened as he saw Ginny and Hermione were covering their very red faces with their hands. But Harry's blush began to recede, deciding it wasn't so bad that he had been seen, it offered many teasing opportunities…then he laughed as he realized that his Nymph was rubbing off on him. He smiled, he didn't mind that at all.

Dumbledore walked forward, "Now that that embarrassing situation was solved, let me introduce u all to the new and improved Harry James Potter, who was, for those who didn't know, a half-elf, and had just underwent his change, though I'm certain Nymphradora will explain it better after this."

He looked over and smiled even wider as he saw Tonks with her arms around the waist of Harry, while his arm was across her shoulders, holding her closer, 'Ah, young love…the best magic of all.'

There was clapping, especially among the Elvin part of the group, who were not only celebrating his birthday now, but the addition of another elf to their society. Harry smiled modestly at the applause, but looked down at his Nymph's smile, and his smile grew wider. He grabbed hold of her and picked her up and gave a spin, laughing as he did so. Tonks laughed as well, happily looking down into his laughing face and shining eyes.

Others smiled too and gave cat calls. Fred and George were screaming out encouragement to Harry and congratulating him on landing him a fine looking woman. Ron was also yelling out his congratulations. Harry smiled, then looked over to the musicians sitting in the corner of the room, giving them a wink, which was returned by their leader. Soon music filled the room and Harry started to dance around Tonks, who watched his strange dance laughing, before she grabbed him and started a more sane dance.

Others joined them and this continued on late into the night, with Harry and Tonks going all over the dance floor, with Harry tiring out poor Tonks sometimes and taking out others to the dance floor, even having a hilarious dance with the twins, causing those around them to laugh heartily. Tonks sat there resting, watching as Harry's eyes sparkled and he laughed along with the twins in their crazy dance. This was the first time she had seen him like this, and she wished to see him like this more. She had to admit, she hadn't seen this turn of events coming, but she wasn't going to complain, not at all.

Harry continued to take others out onto the dance floor, though for one song he stepped out and actually grabbed a spare violin, with the permission of the musicians of course, and played a beautiful solo for everyone's benefit. He explained after his song that he had learned to play it using Dudley's old never used violin from his stint in the school band. Tonks had never heard him play it, though she knew he could, and she had to say, he was bloody good!

After that, he took Tonks out again, then took each of the Black Sisters out a number of dances, getting them to laugh freely with him. When the dancing finally ended, and the time for presents came, they all watched as Harry opened them with care. Books from order members and Hermione, posters from Ron, tricks from the Twins, sweets and other foodstuffs from the Weasley Matron (which Harry immediately took bite of, savoring the taste), more books from Bill and Charlie, and a set of nice Elvin robes from the King and Queen.

A medium box with holes cut into it from Hagrid was next, and when Harry cautiously opened, out came a black puppy. Harry looked at it for a second. It looked like Sirius's form would as a puppy. Harry gave a somewhat sad smile, "Hello little guy."

He picked up the puppy, which immediately started to lick his face, causing him to laugh. Harry looked at the collar, noticing that the little pup had no name and that it was a female. "We'll name you Mara." The puppy gave a yip, and Harry settled it onto his lap, where it laid down and started to doze, causing Harry to laugh again. He looked over at Hagrid and gave him a smile, which he returned readily.

One hand petting the puppy, the other reached out and pulled another present into range, this one from Dumbledore and McGonagall. He opened it with the care he had shown the other presents, and saw inside a pensive. He smiled widely, knowing this would come in handy, and smiled over at the two professors, whom returned it with their own. Seeing no more presents he set the puppy to his side and stood, only to have Tonks walk up to him, he looked at her, wondering what she was up to. She smiled and then reached forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, leaning forward she whispered into his ear, "I'll give you my present tonight, T.B."

Harry looked at her strangely, wondering what she meant, but shrugged, and after giving her a kiss, he reached down and picked up Mara, who as soon as she was in range of Tonks, began to lick her face. Everyone laughed and they all ate and laughed, telling stories, until finally, everyone had to leave.

The King walked up to Harry to shake his hand yet again, "Meet with me and some others tomorrow, and we'll explain to you all we know of Half-Elves, this way u can enjoy the rest of the night."

Harry nodded and after bidding everyone a good night, he left the room with Tonks at his side, but as he turned to the hall with the infirmary in it, he was guided further on.

"Err…I just missed my turn…," Harry said confusedly, but Tonks smiled and winked at him.

"Not tonight you didn't, I think its time I showed you my rooms…besides, my present is there," Tonks said with a strange look in her eyes.

Harry shrugged, "Ok, I just don't want any of the Healers angry at me for not showing up."

At their side, Mara was yipping and giving little barks, sniffing along the way as they made they're way slowly to Tonks' quarters.

"This was the best night of my life, confusing, but still the best." Harry said, pulling Tonks closer to him, enjoying how she fit him perfectly.

"Its about to get better," said Tonks, grinning up at Harry, who looked back and gave her his lopsided grin.

"I don't see how, but if you say it will, I'll believe you," he responded. They continued for a short distance until they reached her quarters, and entered with little Mara yipping after them, exploring the new set of rooms, which included a closet room, a bathroom, and Tonks' bed.

"Well, what do you think Harry?" Tonks asked, a little nervous about what Harry thought of her room.

Harry looked around, looking at the multitude of pink objects in the room. He had expected a more tomboyish room, but he really couldn't care, "Looks pink…very pink, but I like the feel of it, very comfy."

"I happen to like pink, T.B.," Tonks responded with a huff, which caused Harry to laugh and pull her closer.

"And I like whatever you like, to a certain degree, still gotta protect my masculinity you know, wouldn't want me to lose that would ya?" He soothed with another chuckle.

Tonks grinned, "Ok, enough flirting, time for your present." She walked over to her dresser and pulled out what looked like a jewelry box. She brought this over to her bed and laid it down in front of her. Opening it, she nervously withdrew a necklace with a intricate pattern in it. She held it up for Harry to see, and gave him a shaky smile.

"This is necklace is called the Lover's Embrace." she informed, "If worn by a person, it shows that he or she is pretty much taken and is in love with the wearer of its counterpart necklace."

She unclasped it and clasped it around her neck, letting settle comfortably. "I wanted to show you that I love you, Harry, with all my being, and will prove it to the world with this," She said with strong emotions going through her eyes.

Harry looked shocked for a second, then smiled a loving smile that blew Tonks' mind, its power making her weak. Harry's eyes glistened a bit and looked into the box and saw the counterpart necklace, which he gently grabbed and inspected.

"You don't have to put it…," Tonks tried to say, but she was gently interrupted with a mind numbing kiss. When Harry pulled away he smiled that same smile and clasped the necklace around his own neck.

"I will gladly wear this, and will forever wear this as a show of my love for you Nymph," He informed lovingly, gently caressing her face.

Tonks couldn't handle it anymore, she needed to kiss him! Hard! She threw herself at him, shocking him with her ferocity. He soon forgot to care however, as their passions grew. Harry couldn't resist the fierce elf female who continued to maul his mouth with her own, but he didn't really mind the heavy snogging.

The excitement of the day soon hit them, and they settled down into a sleeping position, with Tonks resting her head on Harry's chest, sighing contentedly, sometimes lightly kissing the naked chest underneath her, his shirt long gone. Mara reappeared by climbing up the bed and laying at Harry's side, opposite Tonks, giving a little puppy sigh as she settled in to sleep. Harry never slept more comfortable in his life.

AN: Ok, I have a valid excuse (kinda) for not updating so long, you see, my comp was taken away, so meh, but I've modified this chapter a bit, and am working on the next chapter. 


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